Trump takes swipe at Iranian leaders during America 250 speech revealing he gave them ‘a week off’ for Ayatollah funeral

Donald Trump claimed he gave Iran ‘the week off’ for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as he kicked off America’s 250th birthday celebrations. 

In a particularly patriotic speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore, Trump made a passing mention of the ongoing war with Iran. 

Addressing an electric crowd, he said: ‘They’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off because we’re nice.’

Trump appeared to be referring to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ayatollah Khamenei who succeeded his father as the nation’s Supreme Leader. 

The dayslong funeral for the late leader, who was killed in an air strike in February, started on Friday. 

State television showed people rallying at night in various Iranian cities, chanting slogans in support of the country’s theocracy and against America and Israel. 

The US and Iran have entered into an initial agreement with terms including an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, a 60-day period to negotiate Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The specific terms also detail the unfreezing of Iranian assets alongside a $300 billion economic development package for Iran. The deal would additionally remove pre-existing sanctions in the country. 

Mojtaba has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader, however, and it remains unknown as to whether he will be present at the main ceremony in Tehran. 

Photos showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, emblazoned with Iran’s tricolour flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the Islamic republic’s most important ceremonial venues.

Others show crowds at a pre-funeral ceremony clad in black, as the coffin is set down against a backdrop of red flowers and white butterflies hanging in the air.

Preparations for Khamenei’s public funeral, initially delayed at the height of the war, are taking place as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire after signing the preliminary deal to halt the conflict.

Pakistan, a key mediator in the US-Iran talks, said its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would attend the ceremony.

The rest of Trump’s speech was dedicated to the weekend’s celebrations, adding: ‘Tomorrow we mark 250 years of glorious independence and 250 years of majestic American freedom. Nothing like it.’

He described the US as the ‘most powerful country on Earth’, adding: ‘We are the freest people on earth. 

‘We have the most righteous and enduring Constitution on earth. We are the strongest and most powerful country on earth. 

‘And by the grace of God, the United States of America is the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.’ 

A large portion of his speech was also dedicated to American identity and culture. He also warned the audience of the dangers of Communism.

After about 30 minutes he wrapped up his speech by looking towards the rest of the weekend, saying: ‘Tomorrow, we reach a milestone like no other and celebrate with hearts and soaring spirits because after two and a half centuries.

‘We know that this is not an ending, this is only the beginning of the golden age of America.’

The President was joined by newlyweds Donald Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Trump, his daughter Tiffany, and her husband, Michael Boulos, as they all touched down in South Dakota on Friday night. 

Shortly after boarding, Bettina posted an image to Instagram showing a large cookie emblazoned with a picture of the iconic monument with Trump’s likeness added on to it. 

Prior to boarding, the group all shared pictures of themselves enjoying the Great American State Fair in Washington, DC. 

Tiffany and Bettina even had time for a quick mirror selfie at the Presidential Walk of Fame along the West Colonnade of the White House. 

The president touched down shortly after a dramatic a flyover of the famous sculpture nestled in the the Black Hills of the state. 

The trip marks Trump’s triumphant return to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, exactly six years after he held a controversial pre-Fourth of July event at the monument amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem was then serving as South Dakota governor and embraced a hands-off approach to the virus, allowing the mass gathering to happen despite the health risks. 

There were also environmental concerns. 

The fireworks display that year was the first since 2009, after the National Park Service stopped them due to wildfire risk. 

Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately cost him reelection in 2020. 

But on Friday, the President will fly into South Dakota on his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One. 

The fireworks ban, reinstated during President Joe Biden’s tenure, has been lifted again. 

There is even a bill in Congress, introduced by Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna, to have Trump’s face added to Mount Rushmore, which features Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. 

The event is part of the Trumpified celebration of America’s 250th birthday, organized by Freedom 250, the group that Trump created by executive order last January to take control of the country’s semiquincentennial festivities.

Congress had already created a bipartisan commission, dubbed America250, back in 2016 to plan the events. 

The dueling groups have caused headaches, including the mass cancellation of musicians booked to play the Great American State Fair, when the artists realized it was being organized by the more partisan entity. 

The Great American State Fair has also been plagued by power outages, low attendance and extremely hot weather. 

Washington, DC, reached 100 degrees Friday afternoon, with the fair postponed for several hours due to the intensity of the heat. 

The Mount Rushmore event happened amid drought conditions in the state. Ahead of the event, state and federal agencies were going to make a go-or-no-go call on the fireworks display. 

The US Wildland Fire Service also created a fire response plan for the Mount Rushmore fireworks, Politico reported. 

Trump is expected to touch back down in Washington in the early hours of Saturday morning ahead of the Salute to America celebration on the National Mall. 

That event is also being threatened by extreme heat – it’s supposed to reach 101 degrees in DC on Saturday. 

But Trump remained undeterred. 

‘On July Fourth, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m gonna go, and I’m gonna make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything,’ the 80-year-old President said Wednesday during his trip to North Dakota to open the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

The President is expected to speak after sundown, around 9.45pm ET, organizers said, with the ‘world’s largest fireworks display’ slated for 10.30pm. 

That means if Trump’s speech runs long, the DC fireworks show could drag into July 5.